Keeping Up With the Jameses
by Merenwen Calmcacil
Summary: Nathan Scott was king at Duke. He set the pace for everyone around him. Then he met Haley James and her two-year-old son, Timmy. Now he's just trying to keep up.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: No, I don't own One Tree Hill. This is probably a bad idea, but this story has been bouncing around in my brain for the last few weeks and I just had to get it out. I may just get this chapter out and posted and then really start to work on it after I finish Heal Me. But I just really really like this idea and I'm not quite sure if that will be possible. So, here's to the beginning of Keeping Up With the Jameses.

"94," Haley said, handing the paper back to the boy sitting across the table from her. "Great job, Stuart. I'm really proud of you."

"Thanks, Haley," Stuart said, looking over his paper. "I never could have done this without you."

"Hey, it was all you," she said, starting to pack up a few of her books that there littered across the table. "Don't underestimate yourself. You can totally get this."

"I still say I couldn't have done it without you," Stuart said, putting the practice test down in his bag. "How about you let me take you out to dinner to celebrate?"

Haley looked down at the table and blushed a little. Stuart was a nice guy. He was funny and smart, but she just couldn't go out with him. As much fun as it might be, it just wasn't possible. She brushed a stray lock of her dark brown hair out of her face and sighed heavily before answering.

"That's really nice of you, Stuart," she said with a faint smile. "But I can't."

"You have a boyfriend?" he said with a frown. "I've never seen him around."

"Something like that," she replied, slinging the strap of her messenger bag over her shoulder. "Let me know how you do on your calc test next week though."

"Sure," he said. "I'll call you. And if that boyfriend of yours ever breaks up with you, call me."

"Stuart…"

"I'm just throwing it out there," he said, holding his hands up as he walked towards the door of the tutoring center.

Haley sighed heavily and sank down in her chair. In another lifetime, she would have let him take her to dinner. They probably would have gone to that little Italian place on the edge of town. He would have held her hand as they walked to the car after dinner was over. Maybe he would have even kissed her lightly on the cheek as he dropped her off at her front door. But, it would have to be in another lifetime, because in this one that just wasn't happening.

"Hey, James," she heard a voice call out.

Her boss, Mr. Jenner, was standing in the doorway to his office, beckoning her towards him. Mr. Jenner was nice most of the time. He was always willing to let her pick up extra clients when she needed some more cash. Haley looked over at him and nodded in acknowledgement before gathering up the last of her stuff and making her way over to his office.

The most distinguishing thing about the older man was that he was a huge basketball fan. The walls of his office were absolutely covered in posters and other sports paraphernalia. He'd said on more than one occasion that his most prized possession was the autographed basketball that sat in a glass display case on the top of his filing cabinet. The room was so cluttered it made Haley feel a little claustrophobic every time she went inside.

"Have a seat, Haley," he said, gesturing to a seat next to his desk. "I have a new pupil for you."

"Mr. Jenner," she said. "I don't think I can really pick up another pupil right now. I'm swamped with school work and…"

"I know you're busy," he said. "But you're the best tutor we have."

"But I barely get to spend any time with Timmy as it is…"

"It's Nathan Scott, Haley." Mr. Jenner said. "He's not going to be eligible to play if he doesn't get his grades up."

"Who?"

"Nathan Scott, star shooting guard for the basketball team," he said, staring at her incredulously.

"Oh," she said, mostly just pretending to know who he was talking about. "Still, I'm really swamped right now. I've got five other people I'm already tutoring…"

"I'm not asking you here, Haley," he said. "I'll reassign a few of your other pupils so you can make time for him. You're tutoring Nathan Scott and that's the end of it."

"Fine," she said, brushing a stray blond curl out of her face as she stood up. "I have to go pick Timmy up from day care."

"He'll be here tomorrow at four," Mr. Jenner said. "You're going to start with pre calc and go from there. Here's his file that Coach K sent over for us."

Haley sighed and stuffed the manila folder in her bag without even looking at it. The last thing she needed was to start tutoring some prima donna athlete who would expect her to cater to his every whim. She'd done basketball players in the past and they were never her favorite people to tutor. They would constantly expect her to bend over backwards for them, like she didn't have a life of her own.

She was thankful for her dark blue Duke sweatshirt as soon as she made her way out into the November afternoon. The days were getting shorter and the sun was already starting to set. She stuffed her hands into the front pocket of her hoodie as she made her way across campus. She was going to have to walk home after the sun went down again. She hated doing that. She loved Duke, but it tended to get creepy at night. She snuggled further into her sweatshirt and quickened her pace. She had a stop to make before she could head home.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, Hannah" she said as she walked into the small building about half a mile from the tutoring center. "My boss kept me late after my last appointment."

"It's okay, Haley," Hannah said. "We never mind. He's in the back. Maggie's getting him in his coat for you."

"Thanks, you two are the best," Haley said, making her way towards the back room. "Hey buddy. I missed you today."

"Mama!" her two year old son, Timmy, yelled, squirming away from Maggie and running to Haley.

She immediately knelt down and scooped him up in her arms. He buried his little face in her neck and Haley held him tight against her, breathing him in. She knew he must have been panicking when she was late. Hannah and Maggie never said it, but she knew all the time he spent in day care was hard on him. She hated having to leave him there every day, but she didn't have much choice. It didn't help that he was usually the last kid to get picked up either.

"Are you ready to go home, baby?" she asked and her only reply was him nodding against her neck.

Maggie handed her his bag and Haley bounced him up higher on her hip as she struggled to get a handle on everything. There was no chance of putting him down and getting him to walk part of the way home that night. He was extra clingy when she was late. Still, he was her whole world. His big brown eyes that were nearly exact replicas of her own were the keys to her undoing. One look and she melted. Her life might not be anything like she'd expected it to be when she was 21, but Timmy had made it so much better.

…

"Coach, I don't need a tutor," Nathan said, crossing his arms over his chest.

He hadn't known what Coach K had wanted when Nathan had been called to his office. He was kind of hoping it was because the coach wanted to make him a captain a year early or something. Instead it was because the coach wanted to chew his ass out over his grades. Nathan sat in the padded chair on the other side of Coach K's desk as the older man yelled at him about how he was on the edge of being academically ineligible to play the next season.

"Your last test score tells me otherwise," Coach K said, sliding a paper across the desk towards him.

Nathan just barely flinched when he took a look at the test with a large F written across the top. The thing was, he'd actually studied for that test. Well, he'd tried to anyway. He'd looked over his book for a couple of hours. Then he'd gotten a call about a really awesome party at one of the frat houses. He couldn't just not make an appearance. Or have a few drinks. Or hook up with that blonde.

"I'll do better," he said.

"Your right," Coach K replied. "You will. Because you're going to tutoring. I've been assured that the girl who's going to be your tutor is the best they have to offer."

"Girl?" Nathan said, finally expressing some interest.

"Nathan, I'm going to be honest with you," the older man said. "If you don't get at least a B on your next two tests, you will not be academically eligible to play this season. You won't just be on the bench. You won't be on the team."

"Coach…"

"I'm serious, Scott," Coach K said. "You're a great player, but if you don't get your grades up, there's nothing I can do."

"Yes sir," Nathan said, nodding his head.

"Your first session is tomorrow at 4," Coach K said. "Don't be late."

"Yes sir," Nathan said, standing up and grabbing his backpack.

"You're dismissed, Scott," Coach K said. "Go home and study or something."

Nathan quickly made his way out of Coach K's office and sighed heavily as soon as he got outside. He would be in such deep shit if his dad heard about the conversation he'd just had. Not being able to play basketball that fall would probably be the worst thing that could happen. It was his junior year. The scouts were already watching him and Duke was favored to at least go to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament. It was supposed to be his year and he was only a junior.

The sun had almost fully set by the time he got outside and the temperature had decreased dramatically. He mentally cursed himself for not taking his car and set off at a brisk pace towards his apartment building. Thankfully he lived close enough to campus that it wasn't too far of a walk. There weren't very many people around campus as he walked. He saw a girl with dark brown hair walk out of the campus daycare center, but didn't pay much attention. Nathan Scott did not do children.

"Hey, man," his half brother, Lucas, called out as Nathan walked through the door. "What did Coach K want?"

"He's making me get tutoring," Nathan said, immediately going over to the fridge and grabbing a beer.

Beer happened to be the only thing in the fridge at the moment. That wasn't exactly a rare occurrence for the Scott brothers. Sometimes there were a couple of slices of pizza or a takeout box. The only time there was actually food was when Lucas's mom came for a visit or after Lucas went home for the weekend.

The apartment the two of them shared was probably a typical college apartment. The furniture was sparse and all straight from IKEA. The fridge was almost always empty, minus alcohol of course, and the stove had never been touched. Sneakers were left in a heap by the door and school books and clothing were tossed haphazardly across all flat surfaces. Most of the books belonged to Lucas. Most of the clothes belonged to Nathan. Oh, and of course a large flat screen TV dominated the wall across from the sofa.

"I told you that you need to spend more time studying," Lucas said as Nathan took a seat next to him on the couch.

"Shut up."

"Did he say who your tutor is?" Lucas asked.

"Some chick named Haley," Nathan shrugged, taking a swig of his beer.

"Sounds hot," Lucas said.

"She's probably a total nerd," Nathan replied. "Coach said she's the best tutor the center has to offer."

"You never know, man," Lucas said, flipping channels on the TV. "You might be surprised."

"I highly doubt it," Nathan said. "Dude, there's nothing on."

"Dude, we have 700 channels," Lucas replied. "There's got to be something on. And you should be studying anyways."

"Shut up," Nathan said, snatching the remote control away from his brother.

He started flipping through channels in the same manner Lucas had for a few minutes before giving up and turning the TV off. He tossed the remote down on the coffee table and then stood up. He could feel Lucas's eyes on him as he made his way back towards his room, but he didn't owe him any explanations. Honestly, the whole day had just been shitty and he was just glad that it was over.

He went over to the plain pine and metal desk that had come with the apartment and picked up his pre calc book. He was pretty sure the professor had said something about chapter 7 during the last class, so he flipped there. He tried to read how to do the problems, but it was hopeless. He didn't even know why he had to learn it. He wasn't going to need any of that shit in the NBA anyway. Nathan tossed to book on the floor in frustration and then flopped down on his bed. He watched the blades of his ceiling fan spin and sighed heavily. Without even bothering to undress or turn off the light, he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

…

Haley checked her watch again. It was 4:10. He was late. She knew he was going to be late. All the athletes were. Then they got pissed when she cut their sessions short. She drummed her fingers impatiently against the table and stared out the window. The tutoring center really did have a beautiful view. They were on the second floor, level with the tops of most of the trees. Duke was ablaze with color thanks to the current cold snap. The leaves in almost all the trees were different shades of red and orange. She loved the view, but wondered how effective it was for tutoring. It was all she could do to keep some of her pupil's attention sometimes.

"Haley James?" she heard someone ask.

Her head snapped forward and hers eyes locked with the most startling pair of blue eyes she'd ever seen. They were dark, like the ocean when you were really far out to sea. They were the kind of eyes that got written about in sleazy romance novels. Not that she'd ever read a sleazy romance novel. Her older sister, Taylor, loved to fill her in on what she was missing though.

"Nathan Scott," she said with a clipped tone. "You're late."

"Yeah," he said, taking a seat across the table from her. "Sorry about that. I didn't realize how long it would take me to get here."

"It's your loss," she shrugged. "Our session is still going to end at five."

"You can't make an exception this once?" he asked, flashing her a grin that she knew pretty much got him whatever he wanted.

Haley James was not the kind of girl who gave a boy whatever he wanted because he had a nice smile. Not anymore anyway. She'd done that once. It wasn't happening again.

"No, I can't," she said. "So, you're having problems with your pre calc class. I have your latest test here and I figured we could start with going over what you seemed to have the most problems with."

"We can't start with me getting to know you a little better?"

It was all Haley could do not to slap that cheesy grin off his face. She had so many better things to do than sit there and let him try to hit on her. She wasn't giving in. She'd done the whole basketball star thing before and it had gotten her a teenage pregnancy and a broken heart. She sighed angrily and brushed her hair out of her face before reaching across the table for his math book.

"Do you see this book? Because this book is me. I am math," she said, pointing to a random page.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's supposed to mean that you can work your whole 'I'm Nathan Scott, Mr. Big Shot, scoring my touchdowns' on somebody else, because…"

"I don't even play football," he said with a slightly nervous laugh.

"Whatever," she said, brushing a stray lock of hair out of her face. "The point is, at the end of the day all your bluster and BS don't mean anything to math because math don't care, and neither do I."

"Well, does English care?" he asked. "Cause I really suck at that, too."

"Please don't waste my time," Haley said. "There are a lot of people I could be tutoring right now who actually want my help."

"Okay," he said, looking down at the table. "I do need it… Your help, I mean."

"Okay," she said. "So listen, here are the rules: 1) You're on time. Every minute after 4 you're late is a minute off your time, not mine. That's just how it is. 2) You do your homework for the class and the homework I assign you. I can't help you if you don't do the work. And 3) Our relationship is tutor/pupil. That's it. Don't bother trying to ask me out. I won't say yes."

"I think I can manage that last one," he said with a smirk.

"Good," she said, turning the book back towards her and checking her notes before flipping to a specific page. "So, the thing you seem to be having the biggest problem with is synthetic division. Why don't we get started there?"

Haley was shocked at how attentive Nathan was as she patiently went over the problems on his test that he'd gotten wrong. It turned out he wasn't as clueless as she'd thought he would be. He mostly had the generally concepts down. He was just sloppy with his execution or second guessed himself into getting the wrong answer. She might even consider reevaluating her original opinion of him. But it was only the first session. He was probably an irresponsible asshole just like all of the other jocks she'd tutored.

"Did I do this right?" he asked, pushing the worksheet she'd had him working on towards her.

Haley took the piece of paper from him and quickly scanned over his answers. He'd gotten all but two of the ten problems right. As she searched his two wrong problems for his mistake, she could feel his eyes on her. The feeling made her spine tingle in a way that wasn't entirely bad. She quickly squashed that feeling. Haley James did not do tingly spines, no matter how gorgeous the boy's eyes were.

Nathan didn't quite know what to make of the petite brunette sitting across from him. Her long chocolaty brown hair was pulled back in a low side ponytail that hung over her shoulder. Her hair looked soft. He'd never paid that much attention to a girl's hair before. When she looked at him, her huge brown eyes seemed to look straight into his soul. God, he was starting to sound like Lucas. He wanted to say she was hot, but hot didn't even begin to cover it. The most amazing thing about her though was the fact that she seemed completely unaffected by him. Every other girl on the Duke campus would have swooned at least once by then. He'd even smiled at her and she hadn't paid him any attention.

"Five o'clock," Haley said, looking down at her watch. "Times up. Read pages 205 through 224 for tomorrow and do the even numbered problems on page 225. I want to see all of your work."

"Wow, that was fast," he said, looking at his own watch. "So, listen, there's this party tonight…"

"What did I say about asking me out?" she said, gathering up her belongings and stuffing them down in her bag.

"That wasn't me asking you out," Nathan said, slipping his math book into his blue Duke backpack. "That was me trying to be polite. Believe me, Haley James, if I was asking you out, you would know it. I wouldn't just invite you to some party that I was already going to anyway."

"Have fun at your party," she said, slinging the strap of her bag over her shoulder. "I've got places to be."

"So that's a no to the party?"

"Yeah, she said, pausing at the door. "That's a no."

"So what does Haley James do for fun?"

"Goodbye, Nathan," she said. "Four o'clock tomorrow. Don't be late."

…

"God, Peyton," Haley said, setting a plate of French fries down in front of her best friend. "I was actually flirting with him. What the hell is wrong with me?"

"Haley," Peyton said, squirting ketchup onto the plate. "You flirted with a hot guy. I'm pretty sure it's not against the law."

Peyton Sawyer and Haley James had been best friends since their freshman year of high school. They'd both been new in Oak Lake and had trouble fitting in, so they'd banded together. Peyton often came into the bar while Haley worked to keep her company. She looked a little out of place in her beat up leather jacket and dark eye liner, but she'd become a regularly over the last two years.

"But he's a basketball player," Haley said, leaning against the counter. "I swore off basketball players. Especially hot ones."

"Not every basketball player is like your ex," Peyton said, shaking salt over her fries.

"Your sodium levels should be through the roof with how much salt you put on your fries," Haley said, taking the salt shaker.

"God, you sound like a mom," Peyton said.

"I am a mom," Haley laughed. "Which is why I'm not allowed to flirt with hot basketball players who are probably just jerks anyway. I mean, it's Nathan Scott. Everyone knows about his reputation. I'm an idiot. I should have learned my lesson the first time."

"Haley, it's been almost three years," Peyton said. "I think it's time that you maybe just sort of started considering not being alone for the rest of your life."

Haley sighed heavily and brushed her bangs away from her face. Almost as soon as she'd picked Timmy up from daycare she'd had to get to the sports bar she worked to wait tables. Thankfully the owner, Janna, was willing to let Timmy hang out in her office during Haley's shifts. It was a Tuesday and basketball season hadn't started yet, so the place was nearly empty, giving Haley a chance to hang out at the bar and talk to Peyton.

The place was pretty small for a sports bar in a college town. It was more popular among the residents of Durham rather than the college students. The walls were dark wood paneling and covered in Duke sports paraphernalia. Above the bar was a large flat screen TV that was permanently on ESPN unless Duke was playing on a different channel. The tables were the same polished wood as the walls and the chairs matched. There were a few men sitting in the booths over in the corner, but the place was mostly deserted.

"I just…" Haley sighed. "I just want to do what's best for Timmy."

"You're a great mom, Hales," Peyton said. "Timmy adores you. You going on a date isn't going to change that. Besides, he could use a dad in his life. Other than Damien, I mean."

"Excuse me, Haley," one of the men called. "Can we get another round?"

"Coming right up," she called, pasting a smile on her face.

The men were all regulars who had been coming to the bar longer than Haley had been working there. They were all retired veterans who sat around every Tuesday night and told the same old stories about the Vietnam War and gossiped about their wives. Joe Richards was the leader of the group and smiled at her as she set down the brown glass bottle in front of him.

"Now, I don't want you to think we were eves dropping, Haley," Joe said. "But you're friend is right. A pretty girl like you shouldn't have to be alone."

"I'll keep that in mind, Joe," Haley said with a chuckle.

"Any guy would be crazy to let you and that little boy of yours get away," another one of the men, Richard, said.

"Haley," Janna called, poking her head out of the kitchen. "Timmy's calling for you."

"I'll be right there," Haley said, setting the lost of the bottles down.

She quickly made her way back to Janna's office where she had a play pen set up for Timmy. He was getting too big for it. She would have to think of something else for him soon. He smiled at her as soon as she walked in and reached his arms up for her. Haley quickly lifted him up and settled him against her hip as she made her way back out into the main area of the bar. Timmy stuck his thumb in his mouth and snuggled his head against her shoulder. Haley softly kissed the top of his head.

"Can you say hi to Aunt Peyton?" she asked.

Timmy shook his head and buried his face against her neck. Haley shifted him against her hip and rubbed his back softly. He grasped a handful of Haley's shirt and she felt him learn further against her. It was almost his bed time and she could feel him getting tired.

"You don't want to come see me, buddy?" Peyton said, pouting.

"Mama," Timmy said sleepily.

"All the boys just seem to want you today," Peyton laughed.

"Well, this one right here is the only one I want," Haley said, kissing Timmy's forehead.

"So that's why you were flirting with Nathan Scott earlier," Peyton said.

"Enough about Nathan Scott," Haley said. "I'm tutoring him, Peyton. That's it."

"If he asks you out you're going."

"That's not going to happen," Haley said, bouncing Timmy up higher on her hip. "I already made that perfectly clear."

"But you were flirting with him," Peyton said, dousing another French fry in ketchup and popping it in her mouth.

"Would you just stop saying that?" Haley said.

"You said it first," Peyton relied.

"I say a lot of things," Haley said. "That doesn't mean you have to keep repeating them."

"Look, Haley," Peyton said, squirting more ketchup onto her plate. "I know you got burned in the past, but that doesn't mean that all guys are jerks. Look at Jake. I'm not saying you have to date Nathan Scott_. He's_ probably just like your ex. I'm saying you should be open to the idea of dating in general."

"I'll think about it," Haley said after a pause, shifting Timmy on her hip.

"That's all I'm asking," Peyton replied, dousing a fry in ketchup.

"I just don't want Timmy to get attached to some boyfriend of mine just to have us break up," Haley said, smoothing Timmy's blond hair back away from his face. "It wouldn't be fair to him."

"So don't introduce them to him right away," Peyton said. "Wait a while. See how things go. I'm not saying that you shouldn't mention that you have a son, but it doesn't have to be the conversation starter."

"They can't just love me, Peyton," Haley said. "They have to love him too."

"The right guy will, Hales," Peyton replied. "Timmy's a great kid. Some guy is going to realize how lucky he is to have the two of you in his life. You'll see."

Haley nodded and kissed the top of Timmy's head again. Maybe Peyton was right. Maybe it was time for her to start dating again. Timmy was nearly two. She'd punished herself for her sins long enough. Not that she regretted having Timmy. He was hands down the best thing that had ever happened to her. He just made her life far more complicated than that of the average 21 year old. She couldn't just date whoever she wanted. She had her son to think about. Nathan Scott might be incredibly attractive, but she highly doubted he wanted to be a dad. He was probably more interested in beer and partying than apple juice and bedtime stories. Haley James was all about apple juice and bedtime stories.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Wow! I'm so excited that you all seem to be enjoying this story as much as I am. It's definitely fun to write. No one noticed these, or at least no one commented on them, but I spotted a few factual inaccuracies in the last chapter that didn't get fixed from draft to draft of the chapter. 10 Timmy is 2. He'll be 3 in May. Not 1, almost 2. 2) Haley has brown hair. It's long, kind of like in those flashbacks from when they were in college that were in season 5. I just wanted to clear up any confusion that might have or would have occurred.

"You're on time today," Haley said, looking up as Nathan sat down across from her.

He grinned at her as he sank down into the plastic seat and set his backpack down on the table. The dark grey of his sweater made his eyes pop. Haley mentally kicked herself for noticing and turned her attention back down to her notes. Noticing things like 'eyes popping' was not part of the plan to just be Nathan Scott's tutor. Because that's all Haley James would ever be to Nathan Scott, his tutor. She wasn't going to be some bimbo who ended up throwing themselves at him because his eyes popped when he wore a dark grey sweater.

"Haley?" he said, giving her a hesitant smile.

"I'm sorry," she said, shaking her head slightly. "Did you say something?"

"I asked it you wanted my homework," he replied, digging through his backpack.

"Oh, yeah," she said, pasting a smile on her face. "Yeah, let's see it. I'll look it over and we can go from there."

She wasn't wearing a sweatshirt. That was the first thing that Nathan noticed when he sat down across from her. She was wearing a dark red sweater with a deep v neck. A black camisole blocked him from having any real view down her shirt, but it was still sexy. No, he wasn't allowed to start thinking like that. She was his tutor. Coach K would kill him if something happened and she refused to tutor him anymore. Still, with her dark hair pulled up in that messy bun or whatever the hell it was called and her red sweater making her eyes stand out… No, he wasn't allowed to think like that. Haley James was untouchable as far as he was concerned.

The silence was broken by a cell phone ringing and Haley blushed and reached for her bag. Nathan watched as she bent down and retrieved the phone out of one of the side pockets. She stared at the screen for a second before sighing angrily and then smiling at him apologetically.

"I have to take this," she said. "I'm really sorry. It'll just be a minute."

She walked away from the table over towards the windows and pressed the phone to her ear. She was trying to keep her voice low so that she wouldn't disturb the other tutoring sessions going on in the room, so it was a struggle for him to hear what she was saying. Her body language clearly said that she was annoyed as the hand that wasn't holding her phone went to her hip. She turned so that she was facing the windows and he could see how tense her shoulders were through the fabric of her sweater.

"What do you mean you're not coming?" she said, her voice ringing throughout the room.

"Shhh!" someone hissed angrily and Haley waved her hand at them apologetically.

"Damien," she said, quieter this time but still audible to the whole room. "This is the second time in three months. How am I supposed to explain this to him?"

She crossed her arms over her chest and turned to lean her back against the window. She shivered a little when the small strip of skin her sweater had left bare hit the glass and Nathan watched as she sighed and pressed her lips together in a thin line. She was clearly pissed over whatever the person on the other end of the phone was saying. Nathan continued to watch as she exchanged a few more heated words with whoever she was talking to and then stormed back over to their table.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

"It's fine," she replied, turning off her phone and jamming it back into the pocket she'd originally taken it out of. "Can you please explain to me why boys are such assholes?"

"Do you seriously want me to answer that?"

"No," she said, sighing again as she pulled her phone back out and turned it back on. "I really am sorry about that. I'll try not to let it happen again. I'll go over your homework now."

"Why did you have to talk to him?" he asked as she started to look over his paper.

"How do you know it was a guy?" Haley said, looking up at him.

"Well, I'm pretty sure the entire room heard you yell the name Damien," he said, chuckling as Haley blushed. "And you asked me why guys are assholes. So, why do you talk to him?"

"Sometimes you just don't really have a choice," she said, turning her attention back to his paper.

"Tell me about it," Nathan said, thinking of the conversation he'd had with his father the night before. It hadn't been one of their calmer discussions. Apparently Dan had found out Nathan was going to tutoring somehow and had more than his share of things to say about it.

"Listen, Nathan," she said, sighing again as she put his paper down on the table. "We're not here for some group therapy session where we talk about our pasts and all the bad crap that happened to us or whatever. I'm here to be your tutor. So, let's just focus on your calculus homework. Oh, god, I sounded like a total bitch there didn't I?"

"Yeah," he said, leaning back in his chair scowling.

"I'm sorry," she said, resting her forehead in her hand for a moment. "I didn't mean to be harsh or anything. I just… I can only be your tutor, Nathan."

"We can't even be friends?" he said.

"It's not a good idea," she replied.

"I'd like to be."

"Be what?" she said with a frown.

"Your friend," Nathan said, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table.

"I just said that it wasn't a good idea," Haley said.

"I don't care," he replied. "I think you could use a friend like me, Haley James."

Haley stared at Nathan for a moment, her eyes darting over his face. She was pretty sure that the last thing she needed was a friend like Nathan Scott. Guys like Nathan Scott were dangerous. Guys like Nathan Scott got you in trouble and then abandoned you. Haley knew that Nathan wasn't her ex. She could already see that he was different. But that didn't mean that she wanted to test those differences.

"Come on, Hales," he said with a grin. "What have you got to lose?"

"More than you know," she muttered and then sighed heavily. "I'll think about it, okay?"

"Okay," he said, his grin widening.

"Okay," she said and then looked down at her watch. "Oh, shoot. I've got to go?"

"But we haven't even done anything yet," he said, frowning.

"I know," she said. "And I'm sorry. But I have to go."

"You're being paid to tutor me, you know."

"I know, Nathan," she said, stuffing her books into her bag. "And I'm really sorry. I just have somewhere that I have to be."

"What's more important than your job?" he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"My son," she replied.

And then she was gone, leaving a stunned Nathan sitting there staring at the door long after it had closed behind her.

…

"You should have seen his face, Peyton," Haley said, running her fingers through her hair. "It was like someone was about to run him over with a truck."

Haley sighed heavily and leaned back against Peyton's black leather couch. She took a sip of her glass of water and watched as Peyton's boyfriend, Jake, chased Timmy around the room. She and Peyton were supposed to be working on a project for the music class they had together. Instead it had turned into what seemed like the billionth 'let's discuss Haley James' lack of a love life' therapy session number 567. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her cheek against the soft grey cotton of her sweat pants. It wasn't like she even really liked Nathan Scott. It was more that it always stung to watch a guy's face when you told them that you had a kid. They might not physically run away, but emotionally they did pretty much instantly.

"I'm sure it wasn't as bad as that," Peyton replied.

"It was worse," Haley said. "And he's probably going to request a new tutor. Which means I'm probably going to get fired."

"You're not going to get fired, Hales," Peyton said. "Mr. Jenner like worships the ground you walk on."

"You didn't see his face when I tried to say that I couldn't tutor Nathan in the first place," Haley replied. "God, Peyton. I'm already struggling to get this month's rent money together."

"What about Damien's child support?"

"What child support?" Haley scoffed. "I'm lucky if he pays every three months. And to top it all off he called me today and said that he's not coming to take Timmy this weekend. Personally, I'm glad that he's not going to see him, but it hurts Timmy. I don't even mention it and it's like he knows, Peyton. He's been asking for him again and I just don't know what to say. How do you explain that to a two-year-old?"

"He's not coming?" Peyton said. "Again?"

"Again," Haley sighed. "You know, this is exactly why I don't bother with dating in the first place. I don't want men to constantly come in and out of his life, Peyton. I don't want him to constantly be getting hurt."

"Haley, I'm going to ask you something and I don't want you to take it the wrong way," Peyton said after a pause. "Is this about Timmy getting hurt or about you getting hurt?"

"Peyton…"

"Seriously, Hales," Peyton said. "Have you ever even dealt with what Damien did to _you?_ I know he's been an ass to Timmy, but you did love him once and he broke your heart. I mean, you gave him your virginity and then he dumped you. That had to have hurt and you've never really talked about it. So, is this about keeping Timmy from getting hurt or about protecting yourself?"

"Maybe both," Haley shrugged, running her fingers through her hair. "But it's never going to be just about me. It's always going to be about him too."

Haley smiled when she heard Timmy giggle. Jake was chasing him around the living room on all fours as Timmy tried to run away from him. Hearing him laugh always brought a smile to her face. She watched him run around the room and chuckled a little to herself when Jake caught him and picked him up, tossing him up in the air. Her breath caught in her throat for those few seconds before Jake caught him, but she immediately relaxed once he was safe in Jake's arms.

She wanted Timmy to have a dad. A real one. Not one who was only a dad when the mood struck him or when his parents demanded it. There was no way she was going to be able to do things like teach him how to play basketball. As much as it killed her, she knew that he was going to be interested in it. It seemed like things like that were genetic. Damien's parents had gotten him a little ball and hoop for Christmas last year. It was easily his favorite toy and Damien was probably never going to make time for him.

"What college guy wants to date a girl with a kid, Peyton?" Haley asked after a pause. "Even if I was willing to date, it's not like anyone would want to date me."

"I think your selling yourself short," Peyton said.

"No," Haley replied. "I'm being realistic."

"Fine," Peyton said, sinking back against the couch. "Have it your way. Be old and alone by the time you're thirty."

"Gee, thanks," Haley laughed as Timmy squirmed away from Jake and ran over to her.

He raised his arms up to Haley and she immediately leaned down to scoop him up. He leaned fully against her, his fingers wrapping tightly around one of her curls. She could tell that he was tired by the way he snuggled up against her, tucking his head under her chin. She kissed the top of his head and cuddled him against her.

"I know a lot about getting hurt, Peyton," she said, brushing Timmy's light brown hair away from his forehead. "I don't want his heart to get broken like mine has. What happens if I start dating someone and then we break up? He's only two. He's not going to understand."

"I think that you keep using the same reasons over and over again," Peyton replied.

"It doesn't make them any less valid," Haley said, shifting Timmy over to her hip as she stood up. "I should probably get home. Somebody's starting to get sleepy."

"Just think about it, Haley," Peyton said as Haley reached for her school bag and Timmy's diaper bag. "I just want you to be happy."

"I know, Peyt," Haley replied. "I'll see you in class tomorrow."

Haley said goodbye to Jake as well before making her way out of the apartment and up the stairs to her own. Peyton had offered for the two of them to be roommates, but Haley hadn't wanted to burden her with Timmy. Living with them might have made Peyton feel like he was her responsibility, and Haley didn't want that. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate Peyton's help. It was that she didn't want Peyton to feel like she couldn't go and do just because Haley couldn't. So, they'd moved into the same apartment building. Haley was just one floor up.

Timmy was already fast asleep against her shoulder when she made her way into the apartment. She carefully locked the door behind them and carried him back to his bedroom. He stirred a little when she changed him into his pajamas, but was fast asleep when she laid him in his crib. He was getting too big for it. She was going to have to get him a real bed soon. She'd start looking at the Good Will in a couple of weeks after she'd been able to save some money up. She leaned down and kissed his forehead softly one last time before flipping off his light and making her way out of the room.

She sat down at her kitchen table and pulled out her homework. She hadn't gotten a lot done and still had a lot to do before class the next day. She tried to focus on the calculus homework in front of her, but was finding it impossible. Her thoughts kept going back to her conversation with Peyton. She looked towards Timmy's darkened doorway and sighed. She didn't want him to miss out on anything because he didn't have a dad. She wanted him to have a dad. One other than Damien. She wanted someone who was going to love him and spend time with him. She closed her text book and sighed heavily. None of this would have been stirred up again if it wasn't for Nathan Scott and those damn blue eyes.

…

"Whoa, little brother," Lucas said, watching what by his count was Nathan's fourth shot in the last twenty minutes. "Don't you think you should slow down a little?"

"No," Nathan replied.

"What's up with Boy Toy?" Brooke asked, coming to stand beside Lucas.

"Hey Pretty Girl," Lucas said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and kissing the top of her head. "I was wondering where you were."

"The line for the bathroom is like five years long," Brooke said. "So any particular reason why your brother is trying to get totally shitfaced?"

"I'm standing right here you know," Nathan said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"It's not like you're Mr. Talkative tonight," Brooke said. "But if you'd like to tells us what your problem is, Lucas is more than willing to listen."

"Feeling the love here, Brooke," Nathan said.

Nathan liked Brooke. Well, he liked her as Lucas's girlfriend at any rate. They'd known her since high school, but it wasn't until Lucas had randomly run into her one day their freshman year that they'd started dating. At first it was a casual thing. Brooke Davis knew about all of the best parties. Then the more time they spent together, the more Nathan could tell that Lucas was falling for her. While they might never be best friends, Nathan liked Brooke as long as she kept them away from lame parties and didn't treat Lucas like shit.

"Does it have anything to do with your new tutor, Nate?" Lucas asked.

"You're getting tutoring?" Brooke said.

"I told you not to talk about that," Nathan said, glaring at his brother. "And she's fine."

"She's a girl?" Brooke said.

"Yes, she's a girl," Nathan said. "Can we stop talking about this now?"

"Is she hot?" she said.

"She's all he's been able to talk about since his session yesterday," Lucas said.

"So she _is_ hot," Brooke said with a grin.

"She's got a kid," Nathan said.

"Oh," Brooke and Lucas said simultaneously, both looking away from Nathan.

"Yeah," Nathan said. "I'm going to get something to drink."

He didn't know why it bothered him so much, that Haley had a kid. Nathan Scott just didn't do kids. He wasn't even sure if he wanted any. He probably wouldn't be good at the whole "dad" thing. Especially when you looked at the only example he'd had in his life. Dan Scott definitely wouldn't be winning any father of the year awards in this lifetime. Nathan pretty much hated him most of the time. Nathan didn't want to be that dark presence in some kid's life.

He high-fived a few of the guys on the team as he made his way towards the kitchen. Pretty much his entire usual crowd was there. He'd gotten at least twenty texts from different people asking if he was going to be there. It was like having his own entourage. They followed him from party to party no matter what night of the week it was. He picked up a red plastic cup off the kitchen counter and went over to the keg that was set up in the corner just as a familiar red head sidled up next to him. He knew who it was without even really looking at her. The overpowering perfume and good look down the front of her shirt gave her away without him even glancing at her face.

"Hey there, Hot Shot," Rachel Gatina said.

"Rachel," he said with a nod, focusing on the keg rather than the girl who was getting closer and closer.

"I was hoping you'd be here tonight," she said, fiddling with her hair.

"You asked me if I would," he said, taking a sip from his cup.

"Still," she said, biting her lower lip. "You want to dance?"

"Why the hell not," he muttered before allowing her to take his hand and lead him towards the dance floor.

He downed the contents of his cup and shot it towards the garbage can with a perfect arc. He didn't even look back. The eruption of cheers let him know that it went in. He was Nathan Scott. There was no way he could miss. Rachel dropped his hand after she'd squeezed them to the center of the dance floor. With her it was all about the show. He didn't even have to move as she slithered her way around him. She grabbed his hands and placed them low on her hips as she started to grind against him. He'd danced with her before and this was how it always went.

After a few minutes, she got tired of the grinding and grabbed his hand, pulling him away from the dance floor and towards the stairs of the frat house. There were a few catcalls and wolf whistles. Nathan just smirked and let Rachel pull him along behind her. He'd hooked up with her a few times before and knew she was a pretty good lay. That's what he needed. A good lay. That would get Haley James and those damn big brown eyes of hers out of his head.

Rachel led him up the stairs and down the hall towards an empty room. Nathan didn't quite understand how frat guys were okay with random people hooking up in their beds, but he wasn't going to question it. He didn't even bother looking around or flipping on the lights. It only made it awkward if he knew whose room it was. Rachel pulled her black halter top over her head just as soon as she'd shut and locked the door behind them. She pushed Nathan back towards the bed and he flopped back against it. She straddled his waist and reached down for the hem of his shirt to pull it up over his head. Rachel always did pretty much all the work. He could practically just lay there and she'd be fine.

Rachel started kissing her way up his chest and Nathan fought to focus on the girl in front of him. She stopped for a moment to suck on his pulse point, but he jerked away almost imperceptibly. Nathan Scott did not let girls leave a mark. It made them get all possessive after that. Rachel continued her way up his neck and then pressed her lips against his. For just a second Nathan wondered what it would be like to kiss Haley James. All it took was that one second for him to lose all interest in the girl on top of him.

"I'm not in the mood," he said, pushing Rachel off of him.

"You were just a second ago," she said, glaring as he pulled his grey sweater back over his head.

"And now I'm not," Nathan said, making his way over towards the door.

He heard Rachel's frustrated scream as he made his way out of the room and back down the stairs. Lucas looked at him curiously as he made his way over to the couch Lucas and Brooke were sitting on. Brooke had her jean clad legs stretched out over Lucas's lap as they sat and talked with a few of their other friends.

"I'm out of here," Nathan said as soon as he was close enough for Lucas to hear him. "This party blows."

"You seemed to be having a good time a few minutes ago," Brooke said, kinking her eyebrow and motioning towards the dance floor.

"Whatever," Nathan said. "I'm going home."

"Are you good to drive?" Lucas said.

"I didn't bring my car," Nathan said. "I'll get a cab or something."

He pulled out his phone and called a cab as soon as he'd stepped outside of the frat house. It was colder than it had been when he'd arrived and he wished that he had something more substantial on than his sweater. He could take the cold for the ten minutes it took the cab to get there though. He didn't want to have to go back into the house and see Rachel again. He was still trying to work through what had happened. He had wanted to sleep with Rachel. Well, maybe on Rachel in particular. It was more like he just wanted to get laid.

Then he'd thought of Haley, a girl he'd spent a grand total of two hours with, and the desire just wasn't there anymore. She was probably a nice girl and nice girls didn't like guys like him. They flirted with them. Maybe made out with them when they had a little too much to drink at a party. They didn't date them though. He wasn't considered 'boyfriend material' except to basketball whores like Rachel who only wanted him for status. He was fine with that. That was his life and girls like Haley James had no place in it.

…

"I wasn't sure you were coming back," Haley said quietly as Nathan sat down across from her.

Her sweater was dark blue that day. It was the same style as the red sweater, but this time she had a white camisole underneath. The material still looked soft. Nathan wondered if it was as soft as it looked for a second before mentally giving himself a good shake. He pulled out his pre-calc book and slipped out his homework for her to look over. He pushed the paper towards her without saying a word and then sullenly crossed his arms over his chest.

"Very good, Nathan," she said after scanning over the paper. "You only missed number seven. Can you look back over it and tell me what you did wrong?"

"You're the tutor," he said. "Isn't that your job?"

Haley pressed her lips together in a thin line. He could tell she was pissed. If anything, it only made her hotter in his eyes. Her chocolaty brown hair was down that day in curls that spilled all over her shoulders. She pushed a stray lock back away from her face before setting his paper down on the table and looking him dead in the eye. Her normally warm brown eyes were hard as a rock and reminded him more of a well-polished piece of mahogany than melted chocolate at the moment.

"What's your problem?" she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I don't have a problem," Nathan said, mimicking her position.

"Your attitude says otherwise," Haley replied, tilting her head to the side and jutting out her chin stubbornly.

"I don't have an attitude," he said.

"And you're wasting my time," she said, pushing back away from the table.

"Where are you going?"

"I have other things to do if you don't want my help," she said, stuffing her things into her bag.

"You're being paid to help me."

"You keep mentioning that," Haley said, slinging the strap of her bag across her body. "And the thing is, I can't help you if you don't want my help. So, you can walk out that door and come back in with a major attitude adjustment or I'm going to go pick my son up from daycare."

"Are you serious?" Nathan said.

"Do you want to test me?" she said.

"I have a quiz tomorrow," he said.

"I know," she replied. "But if you won't let me help you, then it's not my fault if you don't do well."

"Fine," he grumbled. "I need your help."

"Nathan," Haley said, setting her bag back down next to her chair and taking her seat. "I'm not one of the typical bimbos in your life that you can treat like shit."

"I know," he said with a hint of a smirk. "I don't admit to just anyone that I need help with anything."

"And you can't charm me into giving you whatever you want," she said. "I'm pretty much uncharmable."

"Is that even a word?"

"Who's the tutor here?" she said, smiling faintly. "Open your book and work on the even numbered problems from the same page you worked on last night."

She really was beautiful when she smiled. Nathan shook his head imperceptibly, trying to clear his thoughts as he dug out his math book and a notebook. He had to stop looking at her like that. It wasn't just that she wasn't interested. She had a kid. Nathan Scott did not do kids. That was the mantra that kept running through his head. He didn't do kids. He didn't like kids. Or maybe they didn't like him. It didn't matter. What mattered was the fact that Haley James had a kid and didn't seem to particularly want anything to do with him.

Haley pulled the book she was reading for her English literature class out of her bag and opened to her bookmark. She looked up at Nathan and sat there watching him for a moment He looked like he was a million miles away as he concentrated intently on the math problems she'd assigned him. It gave her another chance to study him. The blue of his Duke sweatshirt brought out the blue of his eyes. She had to stop noticing his eyes. She also had to stop noticing the way his broad shoulders filled out his sweatshirt.

"Okay," he said, pushing his notebook towards her. "I think I got them all."

Haley tucked the novel back into her bag and then pulled his notebook towards her. She tucked a stray lock of hair back behind her ear and scanned over the page. He'd gotten all but two right and they were towards the end. If he missed any problems, they were always towards the end. It was like he just got in too big a hurry to be done and started to make careless mistakes. She circled the two problems that he'd gotten wrong and then pushed the notebook back towards him.

"Tell me what you did wrong here,' she said.

"I don't know," he said after scanning over the problems.

"Look closer," Haley said.

"I forgot to carry the x in number 14," he said after a pause. "And did the same in 16."

"Right," she said. "This isn't a race, Nathan. It's not about how quickly you get the problems done. You're smart. You can do this. You just have to take your time."

"No one's ever told me that before," he said.

"That you need to take your time?"

"No," he said, looking her straight in the eye. "No one's ever told me that I'm smart. I'm talented. I'm good at basketball. I've been told that a thousand times."

"Well, I'm sorry I'm the first," Haley said. "But it's true. You picked this up really quickly. You just need to apply yourself."

"Thanks, Haley," he said, smiling the first real smile she'd ever seen him give.

He should smile more often. It made him look younger or something. It kind of looked like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders most of the time. She hadn't known him very long, but there was something to the way his shoulders were always so tense. He might be king of pretty much everything, but Haley would bet her tutoring money on the fact that he wasn't happy.

"Times up," she said after glancing down at her watch. "I've gotta get to the campus daycare center."

"Okay," Nathan said, gathering up his belongings and stuffing them into his backpack. "I've got basketball practice."

"I'll see you on Monday," she said. "Read pages 230-251 and do all the odd problems on page 252."

"Sure," Nathan said. "See you Monday."

Haley flashed him a quick smile before making her way out of the tutoring center. She could feel Nathan's eyes on her back as she walked away, but didn't turn back to look at him. She was actually on time to go pick Timmy up for once. Since Damien wasn't coming, Haley had a special weekend planned for the two of them. She'd gotten Peyton to lend her her car and she was taking him to the zoo in Asheboro.

She briefly wondered what Nathan was doing that weekend and shook the thought from her head. It wasn't like it mattered. She quickly made her way out of the tutoring center and out into the October sunshine. She took a deep breath of the crisp air and quickly made her way towards the daycare center. She had to stop thinking about Nathan Scott. He didn't matter. The only one who did was the little boy who was waiting for her.


	3. Chapter 3

"If you're not careful, I'm going to start expecting you to be on time," Haley said as Nathan took the seat across from her.

"Don't get used to it," he laughed.

She was back in the oversized blue Duke sweatshirt. It amazed him how something that pretty much completely hid her shape could look so sexy on her. Over the weekend he'd come to terms with the fact that he was going to be attracted to her, so he'd adopted a new policy. He could look. He could admire. But, he wasn't allowed to touch. It might be difficult, but it was easier than pretending that he wasn't attracted to her in the first place. It was impossible not to notice how beautiful. He was tired of trying to fight it.

"Nathan," Haley said, obviously not for the first time. "What's going on in that head of yours?"

"Sorry," he said. "I just got distracted. Do you want to see my homework?"

"Sure," she said. "Let me take a look."

Haley took his paper and then ducked her head. She'd seen the way he was looking at her and was having a hard time controlling the flush that was creeping up her neck. It seemed like she was constantly having to fight a blush when she was around him. There was something about the way he looked at her that made her feel beautiful. She wasn't used to that. Damien had never made her feel like that. Sure, he'd told her that she was hot, but he didn't make her feel it just with his eyes. She liked it. She'd never say it out loud, but she liked how beautiful Nathan made her feel, even if nothing was ever going to come of it.

"You took your time," Haley said with a smile as she pushed his paper back towards him. "You got them all right."

"Really?" Nathan said, picking his paper up and looking it over.

"Yeah," she said. "I told you that you were getting this. Do you think you're ready for a practice test?"

"Do you have any more practice problems for me?" he said.

"Nathan," she said after a pause. "You've got this. I wouldn't suggest it if I didn't think you were ready. Besides, it's just for practice. It's just like another homework assignment. There's no reason to be nervous."

"I'm not nervous," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Right," Haley said with a sly smile. "I'll go get that test."

Nathan decided to concentrate on watching Haley walk away from the table rather than on the upcoming practice test. Tests made him nervous. They probably made him more nervous than basketball games. That wasn't really a fair comparison. He didn't usually get nervous over basketball games. Not anymore at any rate. It was just tests. He'd never admit it to anyone, but his dad had really done a number on him when he was growing up. He was told frequently growing up that he better stick to basketball because he wasn't nearly smart enough to do anything else. It had caused him to act indifferent towards school. He'd gotten by at Tree Hill High because he was the basketball star. Duke wasn't letting him get away with it as much.

"Okay," Haley said, retaking her seat and pushing a stapled stack of papers towards him. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," he grumbled.

Haley gave him a reassuring smile and then told him he had thirty minutes to complete it. She pulled out her book and tucked her feet up under her in the plastic chair to read while he worked. Occasionally she would glance up at him to see how he was doing before returning her attention to her novel. She could see Nathan tensing up the farther he got on his test. The more she watched Nathan work, the more she saw that it wasn't that he couldn't do it. It was that he thought he couldn't do it. She would have to figure out how to get him past that if he was going to do well.

Nathan sighed heavily and glanced up at Haley. She was twirling one of her curls around her finger absentmindedly as she read. He watched how quickly her eyes scanned over the page for a moment and then turned his head down towards the paper in front of him. He needed to focus. He needed to do well. She seemed to believe he could do it. She wouldn't lie to him. At least, he didn't think she would lie to him. He needed to focus. He took a deep breath and fiddled with the pencil in his hand for a moment. Suddenly a small hand reached out and touched his forearm. He looked up and saw Haley smiling at him.

"Relax," she said. "It's just a practice test."

He nodded his head and Haley relaxed back against her chair. She tried to turn her attention back to her book, but found herself watching Nathan instead. She could still see then tension in his shoulders, but he had relaxed a little bit. She couldn't help but wonder what his high school experience had been like if he got so worked up over nothing more than a practice test. He'd started to tell her about having a rough life or something the other day before she'd cut him off. She couldn't help but wonder about it.

"Okay," Nathan said a few minutes later, handing her his paper.

Haley looked it over and then smiled up at him. Nathan watched her hesitantly, unconsciously holding his breath as Haley handed him back his paper.

"You got them all right," she said with a grin.

"Are you serious?" he said.

"Yep," she said. "Good work, Nathan."

"I really got them all right?"

"I told you that you could do this," she said and then looked down at her watch. "I've got to go pick up my son. You're going to do just fine on your quiz tomorrow."

"You're a miracle worker, Haley James," he said, finally smiling as he looked over his paper and the 100 she'd written at the top.

"This was all you, Nathan," she said, gathering up her stuff. "I didn't take the test for you. You'll be great tomorrow. I've got to go if I'm going to make it to the daycare center on time."

"I'll walk with you," Nathan said.

"Don't you have basketball practice?"

"Not on Mondays," he said. "And it's on my way home anyway."

"Are you sure?" she said as they started making their way out of the tutoring center. "You don't have to…"

"I'm starting to think you're ashamed of being seen with me or something," Nathan laughed.

"Well, I'm certainly not a fan of being the most hated girl on campus at the moment," Haley said, looking around at the glares she was receiving from a few clusters of girls who were outside of the tutoring center.

"Yeah," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry about that. I can't help it that I'm hot."

"And full of yourself," she laughed.

"You don't think I'm hot?"

"I'm not going to answer that," she said.

"So you do…"

"I didn't say that," she said, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

"But I think I know you well enough to know that you would say if you didn't," he shrugged and then grinned down at her.

"And I think there's the daycare center," Haley said with a nervous laugh. "I'll see you tomorrow, Nathan. You're going to do just fine on your test."

Nathan thanked her and watched as she made her way towards the daycare center. She seemed lighter. He would have thought her kid would be like a ball and chain or something. He would have thought it was like being married when you had to think about someone else all the time. Haley honestly seemed to like it though. She seemed happy at any rate. He watched her slip inside the small brick building and then continued on his way towards his apartment. Haley might be happy she had a kid, but that didn't mean he would be.

…

"Damien, I'm not driving over to UNC tonight," Haley said, shifting Timmy up higher on her hip. "I don't care that your parents are in town. If you want to see your son, you're going to have to come here."

She switched the phone over to her other ear and tried to continue wiping down the table in front of her. She was incredibly lucky that Jana was usually a really cool boss. It was a slow night at the bar anyway and Haley was able to carry Timmy around and argue with her jerk of an ex all while clearing off tables. The last group of customers had left a few minutes before, other than Jake and Peyton at any rate, who were sitting at the bar with a plate of Peyton's customarily extra salty French fries.

"Because I have to work," she said. "I'm working two jobs right now because someone refuses to pay his child support."

Jake came over and lifted Timmy out of Haley's arms. She'd never been more grateful for him and Peyton hanging out with her while she worked. Timmy tried to cling to Haley for a second before Jake distracted him with his stuffed basketball. After that the toddler was more than willing to go with Jake back to the bar where he and Peyton were sitting.

"I'm not being difficult," Haley said, brushing a stray lock of hair out of her eyes. "I don't have a car and it's eight o'clock. He's going to bed as soon as I get off work… Your parents are more than welcome to come see us here… I know that you haven't seen him in two months but whose fault is that? You've cancelled on me three times."

"God, he's such an ass," Peyton murmured to Jake.

"Don't say a-s-s in front of the two-year-old," Jake said with a laugh.

"Oops," Peyton laughed. "Sorry, Timmy."

Timmy stole a French fry off of Peyton's plate and stuffed it in his mouth with a grin, causing the two adults to laugh harder. He laughed as well and crinkled his nose just like Haley always did. He looked so much like her that Peyton was sometimes taken aback. She barely ever saw any of Damien in him. Then again, he'd spent next to no time with Damien since the day he was born.

"I think you're forgiven, Peyt," Jake said.

"I can't do this right now," Haley said with a frustrated sigh. "If you want to see him, you can come here. You can explain it to your parents."

Haley closed her phone and jammed it into the pocket of the black apron tied around her waist. She finished clearing off the table in front of her and carried the black dish tray over towards the bar. Damien frustrated her to no end. With him, everything was her fault. It was like he was constantly punishing her for getting pregnant in the first place, like he'd had absolutely no part in it. She rubbed a tired hand over her eyes before smiling wearily at her two friends.

"Why do you even answer when he calls?" Peyton said.

"So he can't hold it against me if he takes me back to court," Haley shrugged. "Besides, he's still Timmy's d-a-d."

"He doesn't act like it," Peyton grumbled.

"Not in front of T-i-m-m-y, please," Haley said as Timmy reached his arms out towards her.

"Why?"

"Because Damien might change one day," Haley said, taking Timmy and settling him against her hip. "And I don't want him growing up with a negative view of him because that's the view I have."

"Do you really think he'll change?" Jake asked with a frown.

"I don't know," she said, kissing Timmy's forehead. "I hope so though. For his sake, not mine."

"Haley, I'm going to need for you to get a sitter next Friday night," Jana said as she stepped out into the main area of the bar.

Jana had graduated from Duke with a degree in business about ten years before. She'd had quite a few job offers, but just hadn't wanted to leave Durham. Instead she opened the bar. It was fairly successful among the Durham residents too. She had a chicken wing recipe that had been passed down to her from her grandmother that had people come in in droves during basketball season. A lot of people had underestimated the petite blond. She certainly didn't look like your typical sports bar owner with her large blue eyes and dimples. She was tougher than she looked though.

"Okay," Haley said, giving Peyton a hopeful smile. "What's going on?"

"We've been asked to cater some basketball pre-season event," Jana said, trying to downplay her excitement. "I'm going to need you to run things here while I'm at the event. I'd take you, but you're the only one I trust to run this place when I'm not here and you're going to be too short staffed to be able to take care of Timmy too."

"Okay," Haley said. "Peyton?"

"Of course," Peyton laughed. "It's been a while since Timmy and I had a date."

"You trying to steal my girl, buddy?" Jake said, tickling the little boy's stomach.

"Well," Peyton said. "He is a lot cuter."

"What?" he said.

"I mean look at that face," Peyton said.

Timmy giggled and hid his face against Haley's neck. She laughed as well and shifted him up higher on her hip before kissing his forehead. She had to agree that he was cuter than Jake. Then again, she was probably a little biased. He was such a great kid and so sweet most of the time. She had a hard time understanding why Damien didn't even seem to want to spend time with him. He talked a good game in front of his parents about how Haley kept him away from Timmy, saying how difficult she was about letting Damien see him. What he didn't tell them was how she had to beg him to come to his own son's second birthday party.

"I'll close up, Haley," Jana said. "You're free to go."

"Thanks, Jana," Haley said. "You ready to go, buddy?"

Timmy nodded his head emphatically and then yawned. Haley laughed and kissed his forehead before making her way towards the back to grab her school bag and his bag as well. She was more than ready to go home and put her conversation with Damien behind her.

"So, it's too bad you don't get to go to the basketball thing," Peyton said as they made their way towards Jake's SUV.

"Why's that?" Haley said,

"Nathan will be there," Peyton shrugged. "You two are like friends or something now, right?"

"Or something," Haley said. "I guess. I mean, we're friends. Sort of."

"You're rambling," Peyton said.

"We're friends," Haley said, buckling Timmy into his car seat. "Or, we're acquaintances at any rate."

"How is this such a big question?"

"I don't know, Peyton," she said. "I guess I just don't know how he feels now that Timmy has entered the picture."

"What don't you know?"

"Come on, Peyton," Haley said, shutting the door of the SUV and walking around to the other side. "He's like a basketball god or something. I'm a teen mom and tutor girl."

"This is your problem, Hales," Peyton said. "You constantly sell yourself short."

"No, I'm just realistic," Haley said. "This isn't some sappy Lifetime movie, Peyton. Nathan Scott isn't going to fall for me and decide he wants to be a father to a kid that isn't his."

Peyton sighed heavily and brushed a stray curl back away from her face. She leaned against the side of the car and then glanced over at her best friend. Peyton Sawyer had never been one of those girls who believed in fairy tales. After losing her mom at a young age, she'd become pretty realistic about life herself. Then she'd met Jake at their freshman orientation. They'd had this instant connection. After that, Peyton had started to believe in fairy tales and she desperately wanted Haley to believe in them again too. She knew Haley had all the reason in the world not to, but they did happen. Peyton believed it.

"You always get like this after you talk to Damien," she said after a pause.

"That's because talking to him is always a reality check," Haley replied.

"Hales," Peyton said. "What Damien did… That's not all guys…"

"I know, Peyton," Haley said. "I know…"

…

When Lucas walked into the apartment, he thought no one was home. There was no music blaring. There was no artificial cheering from NBA: Live. Sports Center wasn't on. None of the usual indicators alerted him to Nathan's presence. Then he looked over towards the living room after dropping his keys on the counter and saw the back of his brother's head. Nathan was sitting on the couch in a silent apartment. Lucas slowly walked over and peered over the edge of the couch. He saw the pre calc book sitting on Nathan's lap and couldn't help but chuckle.

"Nathan Scott does study," he joked. "Who would have thought."

"Shut up," Nathan said. "I have a quiz tomorrow."

"Still," Lucas said. "I didn't even know you owned a pre-calc book."

"Seriously," Nathan said. "I'm trying to study."

Lucas looked skeptically at his younger brother. He wasn't quite sure what to make of Nathan over the last couple of days. He was different. Lucas didn't know how he was different. He just knew that he was. He was turning down Rachel and alcohol. Sex and booze were two things Nathan never turned down. At least, he hadn't since their freshmen year of high school. It was like looking at a stranger sometimes.

"What's going on with you?" Lucas said, plopping down next to Nathan on the black leather sofa.

"What do you mean?"

"You're just…" Lucas said. "Acting weird these days or something."

"Dude," Nathan said, finally looking up from his textbook. "Are we really going to do this girly shit?"

Nathan so did not want to talk about this. Lucas was all the time trying to get him to talk about his feelings or some other crap like that and Nathan was definitely not one to talk about his feelings. Growing up with a dad like Dan Scott made you guarded. You couldn't help it. But even if he wasn't, this wouldn't be something he would talk about. Honestly, he didn't understand it himself. He just knew that for the first time in his life, he cared about school. He cared about doing well and it wasn't all because if basketball.

"Seriously, man," Lucas said. "You're starting to scare me."

"I'm just trying to not fail my quiz tomorrow," Nathan said.

"It's not just the studying," Lucas said. "It's the not partying and all of that too."

"You know Coach told me that if I don't get my grades up I don't get to play," Nathan said, shutting his calculus book and setting it on the coffee table.

"Yeah, but…" Lucas began.

"Boyfriend?" Brooke called as she threw open the front door.

"We're in the living room, Brooke," Lucas called.

Brooke dropped her purse next to Lucas's keys and made her way into the living room. She plopped down on Lucas's lap and pressed her lips against his. Lucas eagerly responded for a moment before Nathan cleared his throat and glared at the couple. Brooke broke the kiss and then grinned at Nathan.

"Hey Boy Toy," she said.

"I hate it when you call me that," Nathan said.

"That's why I do it," she said with a grin and then looked around the room. "Ooh, the TV's not on and both of you are sitting here. Does that mean we're sharing our feelings?"

"No," Nathan said, getting up off the couch and grabbing his textbook.

"Only because Nathan's not talking," Lucas said.

"Oh, come on, Natey," Brooke said.

"I hate it when you call me that too," he said, making his way towards his bedroom.

"Fine," Brooke said, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting a little bit. "I won't tell you about the juicy gossip I heard about you earlier."

"What?" Nathan said, turning back around.

"Yeah," she said. "The entire cheerleading squad is talking about it."

"Talking about what?" he said.

"Oh," she said inspecting her nails. "You probably don't want to hear about it. It was nothing really."

"Stop with the games, Brooke, and just tell me what they're saying."

"Just that you were seen with some girl coming out of the tutoring center," Brooke said, looking up from her nails as she finished her sentence to catch Nathan's reaction. "I heard that she was a complete hag, but that was from Stacy so I really don't believe it."

"Oh," Nathan said, turning back towards his room.

"You're not even going to say whether or not it's true?" she said.

"I'm seen with girls all the time, Brooke," he said.

"But not ones who go into the campus daycare center," Brooke said.

"Didn't you say your tutor has a kid?" Lucas said.

"It's on the way back to the apartment," Nathan shrugged. "So I walked with her for a little bit. I don't see what the big deal is."

"Are you two friends or something?" Brooke said.

"Not really," he said.

"It sounds like you two are friends," Lucas said.

"You do spend a lot of time with her," Brooke said. "For someone who isn't your friend."

"She's my tutor," he said.

"Yeah, but you come home or to practice smiling," Lucas said. "I remember when you were getting tutored in high school. You definitely weren't coming to practice happy."

"Fine," Nathan said. "We're friends or some shit like that. Are you two happy now? Can I go back to studying for my quiz?"

"Nathan Scott studies?" Brooke said. "Is he running a fever or something?"

"I'm going to the library," Nathan said, going back into his room to grab his backpack.

"You know where the library is?" Lucas said.

"Will you too just shut up already?"

"No need to get so defensive," Brooke said.

Nathan shot her a look and then made his way out of the apartment. Brooke and Lucas were starting to get annoying with the whole 'Haley' thing. That wasn't the first time that they'd brought her up. Brooke was like a dog with a bone when it came to Nathan's love life, mostly because he didn't really have one. He had a long series of one night stands. That wasn't going to change any time soon.

…

"Come on, buddy," Nathan heard Haley say. "I need you to walk with me here. Mommy's already running late."

His eyes widened as he saw Haley walk into the room, holding the hand of a kid who looked to be about two. The resemblance between them was startling. The little boy was blond, but he definitely had Haley's big brown eyes. He could also see little glimpses of her in his stubborn expression as they made their way into the room. Haley looked a little on the frazzled side as she fought with her school bag and what he guessed was the kid's diaper bag.

"I'm really sorry about this, Nathan," Haley said, dropping into her seat across the table from him. "Timmy was running a little bit of a fever earlier, so he couldn't stay at daycare and I didn't have anyone who could watch him on such short notice."

The kid disappeared from Nathan's line of sight and he was pretty sure that he'd sat down next to Haley's chair. She started digging through on of the bags she'd brought in with her and produced a little basketball hoop that she could clip on to the edge of the table. She then produced a small orange foam basketball out of the bag and handed it to him.

"Ball!" he exclaimed.

"That's right, baby," she said, smoothing his hair back away from his face. "Now play with your ball while Mommy works."

"Ball," he said again, throwing the ball towards the little hoop.

Nathan could just see the top of his head over the edge of the table. He was surprised that the kid liked basketball. Haley didn't seem like the type. After her little speech about him scoring touchdowns, he was fairly certain she wasn't the one teaching the kid anything about basketball. The kid seemed to love it though. He was certainly going to town throwing the little ball at the hoop. He was pretty good too, for a two year old.

"He likes basketball?" Nathan said.

"Yeah," Haley replied, brushing her hair back away from her face as she dug her books out of her bag. "He gets it from his dad."

"His dad plays?" he said.

"Yeah," she said. "He's the forward for UNC."

"Wait," Nathan said, giving her a doubtful look. "His dad is Damien West? You dated that ass?"

"Don't say a-s-s in front of the two year old," Haley said, giving him a pointed look as she dropped her books on the table.

"Sorry," Nathan said, looking down at the table. "So, you and Damien West?"

"Is it really that hard to believe?" she said.

"He's just…" Nathan began. "And you're…"

"What?" she said. "You don't think I'm hot enough for him?"

"No," Nathan said. "He's just… A… jerk."

"I didn't realize that at the time," Haley replied, retying her hair back in the ponytail.

"So if he goes to UNC, why are you at Duke?"

"We're not together anymore," she said, flipping through pages of the precalc book. "So how do you think you did on your quiz?"

"Pretty well," he said. "There was only one problem I wasn't sure about."

"That's great, Nathan," she said. "Okay, open your book to page 247 and then do the odd numbered problems then we'll go over them."

Nathan nodded his head and got to work. He was pretty sure Haley wasn't going to volunteer any more information about her past. She had already turned her attention from him to the little boy who had crawled up into her lap, the orange basketball still held firmly in his hand. Haley dug a blue sippy cup that had pictures of basketballs on it out of his bag and handed it to him before getting out a small blue container that was full of goldfish. Nathan watched as the kid took a sip out of his cup and then looked between his basketball, his cup and the goldfish bowl.

"Can Mommy see your ball, Timmy?" she asked.

"My ball," he said, shaking his head and setting his cup down so that he could grab a handful of goldfish.

"Fine," Haley laughed and then kissed the top of his head.

"You're really good with him," Nathan said, looking up at her.

"Thanks," she said, smiling faintly. "He's easy to love."

"How old is he?"

"He's two," she said. "He'll be three in May."

"So you had him when you were a senior?"

"This isn't your precalc," she said.

"Sorry," he said.

"Who that?" Timmy asked suddenly.

"That's Nathan," Haley said. "Can you say hi?"

Timmy climbed down off of Haley's lap, orange foam basketball still tucked firmly under his arm, and toddled over to Nathan. He raised his free arm up towards him and Nathan stared down at the kid, not entirely sure what to do.

"He wants you to pick him up," Haley said. "Is that okay?"

Nathan hesitantly reached down and lifted the little boy onto his lap. Timmy immediately grinned up at him and then offered him his ball. The whole experience is kind of surreal. Nathan doesn't think he's ever held a kid before in his life. He wasn't exactly anyone's choice for a babysitter. He didn't have any younger siblings. His Uncle Keith and Aunt Karen had a kid, but Nathan had never been around her very much. The kid seemed to like him though. Nathan took the ball from his chubby little hands and tossed it back to him, causing the little boy to giggle.

"He likes you," she said. "He usually doesn't take to strangers like that."

"Really?" Nathan said. "I don't really have a lot of experience with kids…"

"He doesn't seem to mind," she said. "Are you done with those practice problems?"

"Yeah," he said, pushing his notebook towards her.

Timmy reached out across the table and Haley immediately pushed his cup towards him. Nathan was surprised by what a great mom she seemed to be. Well, he wasn't surprised exactly. Haley seemed to be great at everything she did. It was more like he was surprised by how much she seemed to enjoy being a mom. She was so unlike any other girl he knew.

Haley watched curiously as Nathan interacted with her son. Timmy certainly seemed to like him. He'd offered Nathan his ball. He barely ever let anyone have his ball, not even her. Nathan seemed to like Timmy too. He'd been a little hesitant at first, but now he had Timmy on his lap as he did his math like it was something his did all the time. It was nice to see. It was nice to see someone else take a liking to Timmy, to see what a great kid he was. Part of her was worried though. She didn't want Timmy getting attached. 21-year-old guys… They didn't want families. They might play house for a little while with a girl like her. They might think the kid is cute or fun or whatever. They might become part of the girl's everyday life and she might think they were going to stick around forever. Then one day they looked up and realized that they were too young to have a family and they split. And Haley was not about to let that happen to her son.

A/N: Gah! I'm sooo soooo sorry for the delay between chapters. I was trying to do National Novel Writing month and that took up a ton of my creativity and then I had family stuff happening and with school and I could go on and on with all of my excuses. I'm sorry though. Very very sorry. And now I'm on winter vacation from school and plan on doing a ton of writing over the next three weeks. I'm also going to try to finish writing Heal Me. My goal is to be done with it by February at the latest. So, once again I'm very sorry over the wait and I hope that you all like this chapter and review because I love hearing what you have to say.


	4. Chapter 4

Haley shifted Timmy on her hip as she buzzed around her tiny kitchen. His slight fever the day before had turned into a cold, which made him clingy and not able to go to campus daycare. Which also meant that Haley was barely able to leave the apartment. She wasn't about to try to take her sick two year old out in the nearly freezing weather. Peyton had come to watch him for a couple of hours earlier when she'd had to go to class. Other than that she'd been home all day and Timmy'd been attached to her hip when he wasn't asleep.

She hadn't realized how difficult it would be to pour the children's cough syrup into the little measuring spoon while holding him. He kept squirming and trying to push the black bottle away from her. She knew it probably didn't taste very good and understood why he didn't want to take it, but that little bottle of cough syrup had been $7 and she wasn't about to drop it and watch an hour's pay at the tutoring center spill all over the floor. She carefully set the bottle down on the counter and switched Timmy over to her other hip. Doing it left-handed might be a bad idea, but it would keep Timmy farther from the bottle.

It was tricky, holding the little dispenser and pouring the cough syrup all at the same time. Somehow she managed it though. Getting it down Timmy's throat was another matter entirely. He stubbornly closed his little mouth and leaned farther and farther back away from her. Haley had almost succeeded in getting him to take it when her phone rang and all progress was lost. She sighed impatiently and shifted Timmy higher up on her hip. Carefully, she took the measuring spoon in the hand that was supporting her son and then reached across the counter to where her phone was sitting. She frowned when she didn't recognize the number, but decided to answer anyway.

"Hello?" she said, pressing the phone between her ear and her shoulder.

"Haley?" a male voice said. "This is you, right?"

"Yes," she said, taking the medicine dispenser in her once again free hand and tried to get it past Timmy's lips. "Who is this?"

"It's Nathan," he said. "Aren't we supposed to have a session right now?"

"Oh crap," Haley said, nearly dropping the medicine. "Oh, god, Nathan, I'm so sorry. Timmy's sick and it just completely slipped my mind. Oh, and you have that big test coming up. Crap."

"Haley," he interrupted. "Breathe. It's okay."

"I'm really really sorry," she said. "Umm… I'm about to put Timmy down for a nap. Why don't you come to my apartment and we can do your session here?"

"Are you sure?" he said. "If your kid is sick, it's okay, Haley."

"No," she said. "It's fine. I want to make sure you're ready for your test. Do you know where Briar Wood Apartments are?"

"That's the one right off the west side of campus, right?"

"Yep," she said. "I'm apartment 215."

"Okay," he said. "I'll be there in about 15 minutes."

"Okay, mister," Haley said after hanging up with Nathan. "You are taking this stuff and then you're going to sleep whether you like it or not."

Timmy scrunched his little face up at her, but finally allowed her to give him the cough syrup. Haley gave him his sippy cup as soon as he'd finished it to get the taste out of his mouth. She had filled the cup with grape juice so that he could get the taste out better. He took a couple of sips before handing her back his cup and then sagging against her, his head coming down to rest on her shoulder. She kissed his forehead and could feel that he was still a little warm. He was sleepy though. She'd given him some baby aspirin about a half hour before though, so that should hopefully be kicking in soon.

She took him back into the small bedroom and laid him down in his crib. He was out like a light almost as soon as she laid him down. She went back into the living room and looked around. She had about ten minutes and it looked kind of like a bomb had gone off. She was usually a really tidy person, but with Timmy being sick it had been hard to keep his attention focused on anything for more than a few minutes at a time. Which also meant that she spent all her time keeping up with him rather and picking up after him. She quickly picked up some of his smaller toys and put them in the large basket that sat in the corner of the living room. Then she tossed all of the brightly colored toddler-sized Legos into their bin and shoved it over next to the basket as well.

After she was sure that the living room didn't look quite so much like a disaster area, she quietly made her way back through the bedroom and into the tiny bathroom. Timmy had woken up early because if his sore throat and that left her without time to take a shower or anything. She had about ten minutes until Nathan was going to get there. If she was really quick she could take one and be out and dressed in about seven minutes. She jumped in the shower, only taking the time to wash her hair and her body really quickly.

Timmy sighed a little in his sleep as she made her way back into the bedroom towards the closet. She clutched her towel tighter against her chest as she shuffled through her closet and settled on her last clean pair of jeans. She was going to have to do laundry again soon. She pulled a long sleeve blue Duke t-shirt off its hanger as well and then went back into the bathroom to get dressed. She officially had two minutes until Nathan was supposed to get there. There really wasn't time to do anything with her hair. She twisted it up into a bun on the back of her head and then started to reach for her tube of mascara.

Then she realized what she was doing. It was like she was trying to make herself pretty for or something for him. She cared about what _Nathan Scott_ thought of her appearance and she'd always sworn that she wasn't going to be _that_ girl. She wasn't going to be the girl who cared about what the basketball star thought of her. Not anymore. Not again. She cared about how she looked and how her apartment looked and she wanted to kick herself in the ass for it. Then there was a knock on the door and it didn't matter whether or not she put on mascara because he was there and she didn't have time. She threw the tube down onto the white Formica countertop and made her way back into the living room, shutting the bedroom door behind her. She stopped at the coffee table and turned on the white baby monitor and then went to the door.

"Hi," she said, pasting a smile on her face. "You found it."

"Yeah," Nathan said. "I have a friend who lives on the first floor."

"Oh," she said. "Well, come on in. Do you want something to drink?"

"I'm good," he said, following her into the apartment. "Where's Timmy?"

"Asleep," Haley said. "I just put him down for his nap. He should stay asleep for about an hour or so. Here, let me clear off these cheerios and we can sit down at the table."

Nathan watched as Haley made her way over to the sink and grabbed a bright blue sponge. She turned on the hot water tap and dampened it before going back over to the table and wiping the spilled cheerios into her hand.

"Sorry about the mess," she said, dumping the cheerios in the garbage. "With Timmy being sick I haven't had a lot of time to clean up after him."

"It's cleaner than my place most of the time," Nathan said, slipping out of his blue and white Duke varsity jacket. "You should see how bad my brother and my apartment gets in between his mom's visits."

"You and your brother don't have the same mom?"

"No," Nathan said, his jaw tightening. "We have the same dad, different moms though."

"Is he older or younger?" she said.

"We're actually only about four months apart," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh," Haley said, blushing faintly. "Let me get my books out of the bedroom. You can go ahead and have a seat."

Nathan watched as she made her way around the couch and towards the bedroom door and then looked around the apartment. It was very… Haley. It just looked like the kind of place she would live, even with the standard issue furnished apartment furniture. The brown suede couch was boxy, but she had a red throw blanket tossed over the back that softened it a little bit. A matching chair sat in the corner with a red pillow on it next to a large basket of brightly colored toys. A large TV cabinet dominated the wall next to the bedroom door. The doors were closed though, so he couldn't see whether or not she had a television. It was definitely standard apartment issue though.

She'd hung a few paintings on the walls. Two looked like originals from the same artist and one was a print of a painting he'd seen before, but couldn't remember the name of. Based on the frame it had probably come with the apartment. Every stable surface was covered in pictures. Most of them were pictures of Timmy, but there were others too. A few were of Haley with an older couple who he assumed were her parents. There were pictures of families too, professional style family portraits in mix matched frames.

"You have a lot of pictures," he said as Haley came out of the bedroom.

"Um, thank you," she said with a laugh. "I have a really big family. Most of them are of my brothers and sisters and their families."

"How many brothers and sisters do you have?" he asked.

"Six," she said. "Three brothers and three sisters. I'm the baby of the family."

"Wow," he said. "That's… a lot of kids…"

"Yeah," she said, taking a seat across the table from him and spreading out her books. "I frequently doubt my parents' sanity."

"I'll bet," Nathan said, looking around again. "Your place is nice."

"Thanks," Haley said, toying with a lock of hair that had come loose from her bun. "It's okay I guess. I'd really like to get a house on the outskirts of town. Something with a yard for Timmy as he gets older. But rent is expensive and I don't have a car so I would have a much harder time getting around."

"Do you get child support or anything?" he asked.

"I'm supposed to," she shrugged, flipping through the pages of her math book.

"But you don't?" he said, frowning.

"Damien's parents give me a little every now and then," she said, still looking through the pages.

"But he doesn't pay it regularly?" Nathan said.

"Why do you always seem so much more interested in my life than your pre calc?" Haley said, looking up at him.

"Because your life is far more interesting than my pre calc," he said with a sheepish grin.

"Suck up," she said. "Well, to answer your question, no, Damien doesn't pay child support regularly. Partly because he doesn't have a job and partly because he spends whatever money he does get on alcohol. And yes, I could take him to court again, but it's expensive and I'm just barely getting by as it is. Now open your book to page 350."

"That doesn't seem very fair," he said, frowning.

"Life isn't fair, Nathan," she said with a wry smile. "Now open your book. I want you to do all of the odd numbered problems on the page."

"Mama," a voice called out from the baby monitor on the coffee table. "Mama!"

"Sounds like somebody didn't stay down for his nap like I hoped," Haley sighed, pushing her chair back away from the table. "I'm gonna see if I can get him back to sleep. I'll be back in a couple of minutes."

Haley quickly made her way towards the bedroom, leaving Nathan alone at the table. He could hear her soft voice coming from the baby monitor though. He tried to focus on the math problems in front of him, but found himself listening to her instead. He could hear her crooning softly to her son and sort of imagined her pacing around and bouncing him softly as she spoke. Then she started to sing and math was the furthest thing from his mind.

Even through the scratchy speaker of the baby monitor, Nathan could tell she had an amazing voice. It was low and kind of husky, perfect for a soothing lullaby. He didn't recognize the song she was singing, but it was beautiful. He sat there listening intently for a few minutes as she sang and when she stopped, it was almost heartbreaking. He heard her say something else, but couldn't quite make it out through the monitor. A few minutes later she walked out with Timmy still in her arms.

"He started to get fussy whenever I laid him back down," she said quietly. "And with him not feeling well, I just couldn't…"

"You have a great voice," he blurted out and then immediately looked down at his paper.

"You heard me?" she said, frowning as she sat down.

"The baby monitor," he said, his eyes motioning towards the coffee table.

"Oh, right," she said, blushing faintly again. "How's the math coming?"

"I'm almost done," he said, looking back down at his notebook.

Haley was still blushing faintly as she carefully sat down at the table with Timmy leaning against her. He was fast asleep as he grasped a piece of her shirt in his small fist. She pressed her lips against his forehead, checking to see if the baby aspirin had brought down his fever. He felt a little bit cooler and she reached up with her free hand to brush his bangs back away from his face.

"Done," Nathan said, pushing his notebook towards her.

She flipped it around so that it was facing her and started to look over the problems. One of her hands was rubbing Timmy's back softly while she held her highlighter in the other hand. She never marked up his papers with red pen. Instead she would highlight where he'd gone wrong in a problem so that he could easily figure out how to correct it. When he'd tried tutoring in the past, his tutors always seemed to take joy in marking up the basketball star's paper with their red pens.

"You really are a great singer," he said after a pause.

"Thank you," Haley said, blushing again.

"Do you want to do it professionally or something?"

"I'm getting a music minor," she said. "But I don't think I'll ever perform in front of an audience or anything."

"Why not?" Nathan asked.

"Because singing doesn't pay the bills," she said. "Not at first anyway. Maybe if it was just me I would think about going after it, but I have to take care of Timmy."

"So what do you want to do?" he said.

"I want to teach," Haley said, brushing a stray lock of her dark brown hair back away from her face. "I was a tutor in high school and loved it, so I decided that was what I wanted to do for a living. There's this moment when I'm tutoring someone and they just get it. When I see that light go on it's like the greatest thing."

"If you were my teacher I think I would have done a lot better in high school," he said with a smirk. "I definitely would have paid more attention in class."

"Okay, enough about me and my life," she said, blushing faintly. "Focus on your pre calc. You've got that big exam coming up next week, and you got number 13 wrong."

Nathan just smirked at her again and then turned his attention back down to his paper. Sometimes he just wasn't quite sure what to think of Haley James. She sang. She was an amazing tutor. She was a great mom. She could care less that he was the star of the basketball team. She was completely unlike any girl he'd ever known. The more he learned about her, the more he wanted to know. He couldn't explain it. He doubted he'd even come close if he tried.

…

"You're stuck in traffic," Haley repeated.

"I'm really sorry, Hales," Peyton said. "But there's a really bad accident in front of me from all of the rain. The road is totally closed and I've got nowhere to go."

"What about Jake?" Haley said, shifting her bag on her shoulder.

"He's in class until seven today," Peyton said. "That three-hour music appreciation one."

"Shit," she said.

Haley was standing under the overhang outside of the tutoring center watching as the rain came down in sheets. Her last tutoring session had run a little over time when the freshman she was tutoring had a complete meltdown over their upcoming calculus test and as a result Haley hadn't been able to beat the oncoming weather. Timmy was just getting over being sick and there was no way she could have him out in that. She could call a cab, but it would be so expensive and she had a few more days until her next paycheck was deposited. It didn't look like the rain was going to let up anytime soon though, so she didn't really have a choice.

She pulled her umbrella out of her backpack and opened it before stepping out from under the protective covering and into the elements. The umbrella wasn't doing much though. In spite of it, Haley was still getting soaked. She could already feel the rain seeping through her sneakers. She knew that she should have worn her rain boots. Her jeans were soaked within a few seconds and it felt like they were weighing her down as she sloshed her way towards the campus daycare center. She didn't even look up as a black SUV pulled up next to her until the driver honked the horn.

"Haley?" Nathan called.

"Oh, hi," she said, looking up and seeing the passenger window rolled down. She stepped a little closer so that her umbrella protected the window and kept the rain from spilling in and ruining what looked like his all leather interior.

"What are you doing?" he said.

"Going to pick up Timmy," she said, wiping wet strands of hair back away from her face.

"In this weather?"

"You don't stop being a parent when it rains, Nathan."

"I meant that you're walking to get him in this weather," he said.

"I don't have a car," she said. "I was going to call a cab from the daycare, but I can't afford the fare to get one from the tutoring center…"

"No need,' he said. "Get in. I'll give you a ride."

"That's really not necessary…"

"Get in, Haley," he said.

"But I'm all wet," she said, looking down at her soaked clothes. "And your seats look like leather…"

"They can be cleaned or whatever," he said. "Get in."

"It's a really nice offer, Nathan," she said. "But…"

"Do I have to get out and put you in the car?" he asked with a grin. "I've got at least eight inches on you and probably about 70 pounds…"

"Do you at least have a towel or something to put on the seat?" Haley sighed.

Nathan shifted the SUV into park and then reached back on the back seat for his gym bag. He knew he had a clean towel in there. It might smell just a little bit, but he knew at least it was clean. Haley James was not the kind of girl that you let sit on a dirty, sweat-soaked towel. His fingers curled around the faded blue material and he pulled it out so that he could spread it across the tan leather seat. He watched as Haley sighed a little and then braced herself before opening the door and throwing herself inside, closing her umbrella and shutting the door behind her as quickly as possible.

"Oh, god," she said, searching around for another towel. "I got water all over the door panel. I'm so sorry Nathan. Just let me know how much it costs to clean it. I'll pay you back I swear."

"Relax, Hales," he said, grinning at her again. "I _offered_ you a ride. I knew my car would get a little wet. Besides, my dad owns a dealership. I get it cleaned for free once a month anyway."

"Oh," she said, looking down at her lap. "I'm still sorry."

"You can stop apologizing," he said. "I wouldn't have stopped if I didn't want to."

"You wanted to?" she said, her fingers nimbly French braiding her long messy brown hair.

"Well, I couldn't just let you walk in the rain like that," he said.

"Why not?" Haley said, securing the end of her braid with a hair elastic. "Most guys would."

"You really think that?"

"Well, yeah," she said, turning to look at him as he pulled up to a red light.

"I'm a pretty typical guy, Haley," he said, looking back at her. "And I would never let someone I considered to be a friend walk home in the rain if I drove right past them."

"There's the daycare center," Haley said, pointing to the left.

Nathan smoothly turned into the daycare parking lot and into an empty parking spot. Haley grabbed her umbrella and carefully opened it as she opened the car door. She started to dart towards the building, and was surprised to hear the sound of a second car door slamming shut. She turned and saw Nathan running towards the building as well. She really hadn't expected him to get out of the car. He followed, close on her heels as they made their way inside the building, the door closing hard behind them as they stepped into the lobby.

"Haley?" Maggie said. "God, you're soaked. Did you walk here?"

"Part of the way," Haley said, wiping the water off her face with her hands. "Nathan was nice enough to stop and pick me up."

"Nathan Scott?" Maggie said, her eyes wide with shock. "My dad is never going to believe this. He's watched you since you were in high school. He's one of your biggest fans"

"Thanks," Nathan said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Is Timmy ready to go?" Haley said.

"He's in the play room," Maggie said. "We've got quite a few kids left because of the weather. Do you want me to get him or…?"

"I will," Haley said and then turned to look at Nathan. "Will you come get his booster seat? He'll need it in the car."

"It's in the storeroom," Maggie said. "I'll take him to get it."

Haley gave him a quick smile before heading down the polished tile hallway towards the playroom. Nathan watched her go before turning to the blonde behind the counter. She was eyeing him a little skeptically as she came towards him and motioned for him to follow her.

"Haley's really great," Maggie said after they'd heard the door of the playroom shut. "She's such a great mom and she works really hard to provide for Timmy."

"I know," Nathan said.

"How do you know her?" she said, pulling out her keys and unlocking a door.

"She's tutoring me in pre calc," he said.

"And you felt compelled to give her a ride today?"

"I figured she was picking up Timmy," he said. "I didn't want her to have to walk in the rain. Especially not with him."

"You like her, don't you?" she said.

"Would that be a bad thing?"

"Listen," Maggie said. "Pretty much everyone who knows Haley is going to warn you away from her. Because she's a great mom and a great person, and especially because she doesn't deserve to get hurt again."

"I would never hurt Haley," Nathan said. "You're right. She doesn't deserve that. She's incredible. And Timmy seems like a great kid. I would never hurt either one of them."

"Okay," she said. "But do you see this as a long term thing? Because Timmy's young and he's going to get attached. If you and Haley break up, it won't just be her that you're hurting."

"Haley's different," he said. "She makes me different."

"Okay," she repeated. "Let's just hope it's different enough. Timmy's booster seat is the blue and grey one."

Nathan grabbed the seat and they made their way back to the lobby just as Haley came out of the playroom. She was holding Timmy's hand as he walked alongside her, showing her the craft he'd made that day. It was a paper cutout of his hand that had been made to look like a turkey in honor of Thanksgiving that was quickly approaching. His little orange basketball was tucked firmly under his arm and his little eyes lit up when he saw Nathan. Timmy dropped Haley's hand and ran to Nathan with his arms outstretched to be picked up.

"Hey, buddy," Nathan said, setting down the booster seat and reaching down to pick up the little boy.

"Look," Timmy said, holding up his hand turkey.

"Did you make that?" Nathan said.

"Uh-huh," Timmy said.

"Pretty cool," Nathan said. "You ready to go home?"

"Uh-huh," Timmy repeated.

"Come here, buddy," Haley said with her arms open to take her son. "Nathan needs to get your car seat."

"Why don't you wait here with Timmy while I get the car seat in?" Nathan said. "And then I'll pull the car up so that he doesn't get too wet."

"Are you sure you can handle it?" Haley said, frowning a little. "I mean, you've never installed a car seat have you?"

"It's a car seat, Hales," he said. "How hard could it be?"

Twenty minutes later Haley went out with an umbrella she'd borrowed from Maggie to see what was taking Nathan so long. As she went over to the passenger side of the car, she could hear Nathan muttering curses under his breath. He was trying to fit the seatbelt with the car seat turned towards the seat. She watched him for a few seconds, chuckling at his frustration before he sensed her presence.

"How the hell do you work this thing?" he said, arms folded over his chest.

"Well, you start by turning it around," she said.

"But I heard somewhere that car seats were supposed to face away from the front of the car because of air bags or something," he said.

"That's just for babies," she said. "This isn't a car seat strictly speaking. It's more of a booster seat. It faces the front."

"Oh," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Here," Haley said, laughing. "Let me get it. Why don't you take the umbrella and go get Timmy? I left him with Maggie when you were taking so long."

"I should be able to buckle in a car seat," he said, grumbling.

"It's okay," she said, reaching in for the seatbelt. "You've never done it before. Everyone has trouble the first couple of times. You should have seen Jake the first time he tried to buckle this thing in."

"Who's Jake?"

"My friend Peyton's boyfriend," she said. "They both help me out a lot with Timmy."

"Oh," Nathan said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "I'll just go get him now. Are you sure you've got this?"

"It's nothing I haven't done a thousand times," she said.

Nathan returned a minute later with Timmy in his arms. Haley quickly got Timmy buckled into his car seat, and then she and Nathan got into the SUV. Both were thoroughly soaked at that point, and Haley had to resist the urge to reach up and ring the excess water out of her long brown hair. Thankfully, Haley's apartment complex was close. Haley got Timmy, and Nathan grabbed the car seat before following her up to her apartment.

"Thank you so much for the ride," she said, pushing the door open. "I'm not sure what I would have done to get Timmy home in this weather. Can you watch him for a minute so that I can get out of my wet clothes?"

"Sure," Nathan said as Haley set Timmy down on the floor.

Timmy toddled over to the large basket filled with brightly colored toys and started digging through them as Haley went back to the bedroom, pulling her soaked sweatshirt over her head as she went. He could see a small strip of the skin of her back as she went and felt his breath clog in his throat. That was what Haley James did to him. An inch of her skin was enough to give him heart palpitations, and he didn't understand it. What he did understand was that he'd never felt like anyone the way he did about her. He hadn't known her very long, but already he could feel that something was different about her. He was different when he was around her. Then he looked down at Timmy and could kind of feel the panic setting in. What was he supposed to do with a two-year-old?

A/N: I know that it's been absolutely forever. I just couldn't get this chapter to my satisfaction and it just kept going and going and I didn't know how to end it. So I broke it in half. I'm working at a summer camp right now, so I don't have a ton of time to write, but I'll try to be more frequent. Because I love this story. And I hope this was worth the suppppeeeerrrr long wait.


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